Kiss, by Francesco HayezSoul meets soul on lovers' lips.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus Unbound
Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply
not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.
~Albert Einstein
A kiss that speaks volumes is seldom a first edition.
~Clare Whiting
A man's kiss is his signature.
~Mae West
Do you remember your first kiss? It's something most of us anticipated, but whether or not it lived up to our anticipation was another thing altogether.
I know my first kiss was nothing like those I'd read about. You know the type - spine-tingling, knee-knocking, world-spinning kisses of such passion and meaning that it leaves you breathlessly in love.
Mine was more of a "what the heck?" I did not find it romantic at all. It was artless and clumsy and disappointing. Thank God there were other boys and other kisses to come - sweetly anticipated kisses that carried me away.
Researchers at the University of Albany conducted a study about kissing and found that men view kissing as a means to an end, while women use kisses to monitor the status of the relationship and commitment. Men were happy having sex without kissing, while women were not, and beyond that, women were not as willing to have sex with a man who was not a good kisser. Clearly, kissing is important here guys. Good kissing, I should add.
In the spirit of St. Valentine's Day and with genuine desire to get to know our blog readers, I ask, what was your first kiss like? Was it everything you thought it would be?
Kiss and tell, if you dare. If you're too shy for that, consider sharing the first kiss between your characters. Think of it as trading virtual Valentine's Day cards.
May all your kisses be wonderful.
Oooh, Susan! That picture is hot! But my first kiss--OTHO--was not. I'm with you. The first one was underwhelming. Thank goodness he lived two hours away and I never saw him again. ; )
ReplyDeleteOh lordy :) The first boy I kissed promptly turned around and told me I kissed like a frog, and we never had a second kiss. A frog? I'm still trying to figure that one out. Hopefully he, like me, soon discovered the joy of kissing someone truly special :)
ReplyDeleteA frog?? What on earth?
ReplyDeleteI agree, that picture is hot. But yea, my first kiss... Heck, I don't even remember it. But thinking back, I can remember which guy it was, and that helps me remember. So, um, it was kinda all over the place. Not very passionate at all.
Much more exciting to talk about Rosa and Baha's first kiss. On a ship's deck, at sunset... Yum yum.
Yup. And it wasn't meant as a compliment (wg). But you know, it takes two to kiss, so I'm satisfied that I can say he sucked at it, too (g).
ReplyDeleteWe should clarify... when was your first good/real kiss? Mine was, hmmm... Must have been the guy I went to my graduation party with. Ahem.
ReplyDeleteLol! Well, mine was with the second boy I ever kissed- and five years later, I married him :)
ReplyDeleteWell, that's what's so interesting. I have to force my mind to recall these things. I don't really remember or picture anything, thinking of these topics, besides DH. And Rosa and Baha of course [silly g]
ReplyDeleteZan Marie, I think we're quickly forming the Bad First Kiss Club here. (grin)
ReplyDeleteClaire! A frog? I guess you know what that means? He'd been out kissing frogs before he kissed you, otherwise how did he know? (snerk) And no, not for a minute do I believe him.
Reminds me of a story my mom once told me about one of her boyfriends in school. He said holding hands with her was like holding a dead fish. She went on to marry someone else.
Deniz - I guess unmemorable first kisses are about on par with memorable bad first kisses.
So... anyone out there with a GOOD first kiss? eh?
Here's a snip from my WIP in which Carrie talks about the three boys she grew up with, two of which she grew to love. Deeply.
ReplyDelete"Does the tale start at the awakening of our differences? When the cellar sheltered us from the summer heat, with the racked barrels and heady scent of wine witness to that rite of passage: the first kiss? Kisses then were furtive experiments, accompanied with giggles and relief that we’d actually done it. Being the only girl, I kissed them all. Nathan, then Carl and then Robby. Each kiss was unique, the soul of the man-to-be borne in it.
Or does my story start later, when the kisses spoke volumes more, and the man behind the kiss grown bolder? This is where the tale begins to turn like the tendrils of a grape vine wound around a trellis. We are grown together, bound by tendrils that won’t let go. Even if they should."
Susan Montgomery © 2010
First kiss? I was sixteen, he was seventeen. We were walking in a creek, barefoot, with a group of other teenagers (at a church campgrounds). He yanked on my arm and pulled me back from the other kids. Before I knew what happened, he laid one on my lips. It was a quickie, a sneak attack. But I liked it fine.
ReplyDeleteI love it, Carrie- thank goodness someone had a great first kiss :)
ReplyDeleteMy WWI fiction revolves around two brothers in love with the one girl, so plenty of first kisses. Here's a brief snippet from mine- her first kiss, but far from his. Good girl Kit falls for bad boy Len- trouble ahead:
They rocked side to side for a few moments more. “Life is short, Len. None of us knows what’s around the corner. You must take your chances when they come.”
He intended to, fully, and so he stopped dancing. “Let’s sit.”
He stepped back, pulling her after him, until his the back of his legs met the seat, and he sat.
She stayed standing, and he tugged her hand. “I won’t bite.”
She sighed. “All right.”
They sat in silence for a long while, fingers twisted together, until she turned her face to the dark sky. “My mother always says the same verse, every night. Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”
It was as good as an invitation. He let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her shoulder. “What do you wish for tonight?”
She’d gone very still, but she didn’t try to move. “If you tell someone else, it doesn’t come true.”
He put his finger to her chin and turned her face toward him. Moonlight cut between the leaves and lit one of her eyes, pale as glass. “Then I won’t tell you mine, either.”
He bent to her quickly, before she could argue. But her lips were soft and sweet and willing, and he let his hands wander over her shoulder and down to the curve of her waist, pulling her close. He deepened the kiss, teasing, until she replied in kind. She was hesitant, and he was sure, suddenly, that she’d never been kissed by anyone but him. So much to learn, and no question this time. He was the best teacher for the job.
His fingers wandered up into her hair and took hold. She hadn’t closed her eyes like so many girls did, and in them he saw curiosity. Eagerness. Desire, dark and hot, that brought him flaming to life and made him want to…
He started to lower her down onto the bench, but she pushed back against him and broke away. “Stop that.”
Lovely, Susan and Claire! Very yummy snips.
ReplyDeleteI think you guys have seen Rosa and Baha's brief first kiss before, the day they return to the ship together after a carnival and find themselves in his cabin...
"What are you dreaming of?" He asked in a low voice.
"Colours," she whispered. "All the women had such pretty dresses today. I can't remember the last time I –"
His arms came about her, his lips rested on the nape of her neck. "You're beautiful in your own colours, Peri," he murmured. "But we'll find a dress for you at the next port, if you like."
She looked down at her hands, clasped together on her lap. As she watched, her fingers separated, her right hand moved to the side, and landed directly above his knee.
His fingers pushed aside her collar and kisses moved along her shoulder.
"What are you doing?" She asked, again in a whisper.
"You've cast a spell on me, Peri. The dragon has turned into a man."
His breath had quickened, hers as well. She shifted, ever so slightly, so that his lips approached hers, grazing along her cheek.
Footsteps pounded on the deck above their heads; loud cries echoed from bow to stern. The others had returned.
Deniz, Baha knows just what to say, doesn't he? Very romantic. :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteClaire, love this first kiss scene from the POV of the guy and I really like that he's so into her that he realizes this is her first real kiss. (Might smack him after that, though, when his ego begins to show. :P)
ReplyDeleteJust popped over for the Writer's Building Platform Crusade! I also participating (obviously :) Love your picture! It's actually one that I wrote a drabble on and have posted on my blog. It's an inspiring picture, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWelcome Danette! Don't you just love that painting? I imagine in that day and time it might have been considered nearly pornographic. (snicker) I'm off to check out your blog -
ReplyDeleteLove the snips, Susan, Deniz, and Claire. :) Really good.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss. Hmm. Sorry to say, mine wasn't good either. I had no idea what I was doing and the guy just dove in and stuck his tongue down my throat. All I could think was, "Yuck." The image of a slug still looms large in my mind. lol.
Kristen - LOL! That about sums up my own experience, too, but I hadn't thought of it terms of a slug. Er... thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Susan.
ReplyDeleteMy first kiss was a little fraught - but also very nice. See, I had braces - the full metal jacket variety - from the time I was eleven until I was fifteen, which kinda put me out of the kissing pool for a while. But once those suckers came off ... well, apart from the anxiety of having to negotiate the surreptitious removal of the retainer (g), that first proper kiss was really good: in the back row of the movies, with a New Zealand volley ball exchange student who was gorgeous, three years my senior and very experienced on the kissing front ... let's just say I well and truly made up for lost time. :-P
Thanks Kristen!
ReplyDeleteGreat story Rachel :-) I had to wait sometime after my braces came off before I made up for it...
You're a lucky girl, Rachel! (I must remember to use the braces excuse for my late-blooming in the kissing department...) :P
ReplyDelete